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Direct, Measurable Bottom-Line ResultsPerformance and Profitability Improvement

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Crowe Horwath LLP

The Bottom-Line Approach to Performance ImprovementToday’s business executives are searching for more than just process improvement – they seek profitability improvement. That’s exactly what Crowe Horwath LLP’s Performance Improvement team delivers.

This Crowe team has had great success driving bottom-line profit-ability improvement in a wide variety of industries, delivering performance and process solutions that provide direct, immediate, significant, and measurable financial benefit.

The Crowe Performance Improvement team helps businesses identify the root causes of poor performance, and then designs and helps implement solutions to streamline processes, reduce waste, improve management effectiveness, enhance revenue, and address a broad range of additional, specific concerns.

Crowe’s team draws on the broad-est possible array of solutions and approaches, and identifies those specific tools and methods that will produce an immediate positive financial impact. This approach differentiates Crowe from narrowly focused specialists or niche consultancies that typically approach every challenge as an opportunity to apply the same, familiar tools.

Then, rather than merely making recom-mendations, the Crowe team employs a hands-on approach that delivers imme-diate bottom-line improvement during the course of the assignment, while also establishing a foundation for long-term, sustainable growth in the organization’s overall value.

Turning Performance Challenges Into Profitability ImprovementCrowe’s team approaches each client situ-ation objectively and assertively. Instead of redefining your business’s challenges to match the available tools, Crowe begins by accurately identifying the challenge and the financial opportunity it presents before attempting to define the appropriate tools and techniques. Crowe brings dedicated specialists with proven expertise in appro-priate tools and methodologies such as:

■ Planning and scheduling optimization

■ Productivity improvement

■ Accountability and performance management

■ Inventory and materials management optimization

■ Supply chain optimization

■ Gross margin and pricing optimization

■ Capacity management

■ Cycle and lead-time reduction

■ Sales and operations planning

■ SG&A optimization

■ Efficiency improvement

■ Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and downtime reduction

■ Lean and Six Sigma

■ Total productive maintenance (TPM)

■ Total quality management (TQM)

A key component of Crowe Performance Improvement team assignments is the installation of the Crowe Horwath Accountability and Management Perfor-mance System (CHAMPS), a proprietary balanced scorecard methodology that helps support and maintain the financial improvement year after year. Going beyond the traditional limitations of the balanced scorecard, CHAMPS also provides critical accountability and change-management tools, enabling clients to not only recognize the key performance information, but also identify how to change behaviors based on this information.

Why New Technology Often Fails to DeliverBusiness technologies have made dramatic advances in recent years, so it is no surprise that attempts at performance improvement often begin with a focus on technology. Eventually, however, most businesses discover the fundamental flaw in this approach: They are automating a defective process.

This explains why so many technology-driven improvement efforts deliver only mixed results, at best. Typically the best-running divisions, departments, or facilities can adapt to the new technol-ogy relatively smoothly, but the poor performers end up doing even worse. Moreover, their dysfunctional work pro-cesses are now automated – and even more difficult to correct. Unfortunately, this discovery generally comes only after several years of wasted effort and mil-lions of dollars in costs – both in direct expenditures and in lost opportunities.

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Crowe Performance and Profitability Improvement: Direct, Measurable Bottom-Line Results

A much more effective approach is to focus first on the process rather than the technology. By identifying process shortcomings, measuring their financial impact, prioritizing the most critical, and then addressing the root causes of process problems, Crowe’s Performance Improvement team helps you fix the process before you invest in technology.

Not only is this approach more effective in the long term, it also generates signifi-cant savings rapidly. In many instances, the improved financial performance that results from optimizing business processes can help fund necessary technology upgrades, which in turn can greatly multiply the benefits.

What Sets Us ApartCrowe’s Performance Improvement team has built a strong track record of deliver-ing measurable financial results. Among the key factors that set Crowe apart are:

■ Quality of Our Team – Crowe’s consulting team members bring years of experience to bear. Inexperienced staffers are not brought in to train at the client’s expense.

■ Broad and Deep Expertise Across a Range of Industries – Our team is composed of proven performers in a host of industries, as well as special-ized experts in specific management tools and methods.

■ Positive ROI – Above all, our approach achieves immediate and measurable financial improvement, producing an agreed-upon return on the client’s investment.

■ Long-Term Commitment – Our goal is to establish ongoing relationships with successful companies, helping

you apply proven and continuing process improvement initiatives in a variety of venues.

In addition, clients frequently comment on the Crowe team’s insight and ability to quickly discern opportuni-ties. This, coupled with the ability to quickly prioritize needed actions and rally client teams to achieve rapid results, produces a unique “bias for action” that is the hallmark of a Crowe Performance Improvement initiative.

What Makes It WorkAs important as technical and industry expertise are, Crowe’s Performance Improvement team adds a third essential component: a proven, systematic approach.

■ We Find the Right Levers – Crowe’s analytical approach identifies those areas where performance improvement will have direct financial impact, so we can focus our efforts in those areas.

■ We Implement What We Recom-mend – Rather than merely presenting reports and recommendations, Crowe’s team works side-by-side with you at every level of your business to help get the promised improvement.

■ We Stick With You Until the Results Are Delivered – You and we agree upon a specific, guaranteed financial return at the outset of the assignment – and we stay with you until it’s achieved.

■ We Empower You to Make It Last – We go beyond merely training your people in tools and techniques, and instill an attitude of continuous improvement so that the results are sustained – and form the basis for further improvement.

Demonstrated SuccessCrowe’s Performance Improvement team has achieved results in a broad array of businesses in both product and service sectors:

■ Aerospace

■ Automotive

■ Biotech

■ Building materials

■ Chemicals

■ Construction

■ Consumer goods

■ Electronics

■ Energy

■ Flooring

■ Flow control

■ Food and beverage

■ Foundry

■ Healthcare operations

■ Heavy machinery

■ Industrial equipment

■ Industrial services

■ Metals and mining

■ Petrochemical

■ Packaging

■ Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

■ Plastics

■ Private equity

■ Pulp and paper

■ Printing

■ Railways

■ Refrigeration

■ Restaurant operations

■ Rubber

■ Telecommunications

■ Textiles

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Crowe Horwath LLP is an independent member of Crowe Horwath International, a Swiss verein. Each member firm of Crowe Horwath International is a separate and independent legal entity. Crowe Horwath LLP and its affiliates are not responsible or liable for any acts or omissions of Crowe Horwath International or any other member of Crowe Horwath International and specifically disclaim any and all responsibility or liability for acts or omissions of Crowe Horwath International or any other Crowe Horwath International member. Accountancy services in Kansas and North Carolina are rendered by Crowe Chizek LLP, which is not a member of Crowe Horwath International. © 2011 Crowe Horwath LLP

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Contact InformationRon Melcher is a partner with Crowe Horwath LLP. He can be reached at 404.442.1639 or ron.melcher@crowehorwath.com.

Bart Kelly is a partner with Crowe Horwath LLP. He can be reached at 404.442.1627 or bart.kelly@crowehorwath.com.

Doug Schrock is a partner with Crowe Horwath LLP. He can be reached at 212.572.5545 or doug.schrock@crowehorwath.com.

The Results: What’s in It for YouThe Crowe Performance Improvement team’s hands-on approach has helped businesses in dozens of industries address a broad array of specific challenges – from underperforming operations, low productivity, and shortcomings in quality and service to scheduling, inventory, capacity management, and revenue challenges.

By clearly identifying the root causes of poor performance, and by designing and implementing specific solutions in a proven and highly interactive approach, the Crowe team can help your organization achieve both immediate bottom-line improvement and long-term, sustainable growth in enterprise value.

The Next StepIs there real, significant opportunity for profitability improvement in your orga-nization? One phone call can get you started toward answering that question.

Ron Melcher and Bart Kelly, who lead Crowe’s Performance Improvement services, have more than 20 years of hands-on experience helping hundreds of companies achieve measurable, verifiable bottom-line improvement. They would be happy to discuss your company’s current situation, and give you their frank initial impression of the potential opportunities in your organization. Based on that initial conversation you will be in a better position to determine if a no-cost, no-obligation review of your business might be worthwhile.

About Crowe Horwath LLPCrowe Horwath LLP (www.crowehorwath.com) is one of the largest public accounting and consulting firms in the United States. Under its core purpose of “Building Value with Values,®” Crowe assists public and private company clients in reaching their goals through audit, tax, advisory, risk, and performance services. With offices coast to coast and 2,400 personnel, Crowe is recognized by many organizations as one of the country’s best places to work. Crowe serves clients worldwide as an independent member of Crowe Horwath International, one of the largest networks in the world, consisting of 150 independent accounting and management consulting firms with offices in more than 580 cities around the world.